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Research Paper Guidelines
Research Paper Guidelines (title)
Student Name
Nursing Fundamental Concepts PTVN P009 (class)
Mrs. Elizabeth Keele (instructor)
Porterville College
April 25 or 27, 2016 (date)
Research Paper Guidelines
This is an only an example of how to write a research paper. This example is in A.P.A. format. Begin the paper with the title on the top of the page and centered; do not bold, underline or italicize your title. It should be the same type size as the text. Every page should have a running head or page header. This is located at the top left of the paper. The title of the paper (or a shortened version) and the page number should be included in the running head in the top right hand corner (Angeli, Wagner, Lawrick, Moore, Anderson, Suderlund & Brizee, 2010). Do not include your name anywhere in the body of the paper; it should only appear on the cover page (Keele, 2009).
The first paragraph of the paper is the introduction. In the introduction the paper informs the reader what the topic is. The introduction of this paper should briefly describe the disease or disorder (Mann, 2008). Tell the reader what you are going to write about in the paper and what they can expect to learn by reading your paper. Remember that the paper is to be typed using a standard professional 12-point font such as Times Roman or Courier. The paper should be double spaced. The margins on the paper should be one inch on the top, bottom and sides. The beginning of each paragraph should be indented five to seven spaces or about one-half inch (Henderson, 2007). Remember that this is a research paper not an essay. A research paper should not include “why you are writing this paper”. Do not use the word “I” in your paper, it is very unprofessional. Also avoid using the word “you” “my” and “me”.
Pathophysiology
After the introduction, begin by giving the pathophysiology of the disease or disorder. This is an explanation of what the disease is and how it affects the body. Discuss what causes the disease, how does a person “get it”. When they do get this disease, what happens inside their body? What part of the body is affected by this disease and how? Use medical terms as much as possible, but make sure you know what you are writing. This section of the paper should be one of the longest sections. Notice the heading of this section, “pathophysiology”. It is centered in the middle of the page. The font for the section headings should be the same as the text. There are no extra spaces around the heading.
Make sure that you site you work. This means you need to site/ tell the reader, where you got the information you are writing about. At the end of a sentence, place in parentheses the name of the author and the date of where you found the information (Keele, 2009). In text citations are a must. In most cases there should be an in-text citation for every paragraph. You need to give credit to the sources that gave you the information for the paper, even if you are not directly quoting the source. You must give a citation for everything included in your paper that you did not already know. If the paper is only filled with information that you already knew, it was not a research paper. This is a research paper not an essay. A lack of in-text citations will result in a score of zero and is considered a form of plagiarism. Remember you are turning this into “turnitin.com” – don’t plagiarize (Honesty, 2006)! Even though you are using citations you must write the paper using you own words, not just cutting and pasting someone else’s words. The citation is only telling the reader where you got the information.
Clinical Manifestation
The next section of your paper should contain the clinical manifestation of the disease or disorder you are researching. Describe the patient who has this disease. How do they act? What do they complain of when they have this disease (Paine, 2006)? What changes do they manifest when they are sick with this disease? What are the first signs and symptoms of the disease? What are the diagnostic tests used to diagnose the disease? The reader should be able to visualize the patient and the condition that they have (Keele, 2009). Please do not include pictures!
Medical Management
The next section is about how to treat the disease. You should address the different ways medical professionals approach the disease. The paper can include any medical specialist who treats this type of disorder. You might include things like medication, surgeries, exercises or diets. This section also might include information on prevention of the disease (Henderson, 2008). Don’t just list the medications prescribed to a person with this disease. Tell the reader what the medications do, how they work, when they are to be taken and what the side effects are.
If you quote a source (meaning you write exacting what is written somewhere else) you must put it in “quotation marks” and then site the work at the end of the sentence (Keele, 2009). You should not quote more than 20 words total in the whole paper. Ideally there should be no quotes used in this paper. The goal is for you to read about the disease and then write what you have learned in your own words.
Conclusion
The last paragraph of your paper should be your conclusion. The conclusion is a summary of the paper. The total paper not including the title page and the bibliography should be between 1250 and 2000 words (about four - five pages). Please do not put any fancy covers on your research paper – I will just rip them off, throw them away and then mark you down for not following instructions! Please put your name only on the cover page – do not include it in the footnotes or headers. Even if you are writing about a personal disease or your experience with the disease, you must not include your name in the paper. Your paper should be single sided, not double sided like this paper is (Keele, 2009).
References
The final page should be your works cited. This page is to be separate from the main body of the paper but still have one inch margins and be double spaced. The reference page contains a list of all of the sources you used to write your paper. Every entry on your reference page should be cited (used) somewhere in your paper. You should have at least three references cited in your reference list. The reference list should be in alphabetical order using the authors last name as a reference. Any internet sites used should include the URL. All references should be written using a hanging tab. This means that the first line of the reference is flush with the left margin and all subsequent lines of the reference are indented five spaces. The following are some examples of how you can write a reference page using APA format. See Mrs. Keele’s web site for helpful links to APA formatting sources.
Electronic Sources / Basic Format (Internet sites):
Henderson, B.L. (2007, March 18). Writing an awesome paper for P100. Retrieved November 20, 2000, from http://henderson.writinganawesomepaper.html
Electronic Sources multiple authors (Internet sites):
Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5).General format. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Electronic source/ Electronic version of newspaper article
Honesty, U.R. (2010, February 16). Plagiarism and flunking out. Porterville Times. Retrieved November 21, 2011; from http://www.portervilletimes.com
Basic book:
Keele, E. (2009). How to write a research paper. San Francisco, CA: Basic Books Press.
Journal references, magazines, etc.
Mann, E. (2008). The Art of Research. Magazine for great Students, 14, 253-263.
How to do in-text citations
APA style, in-text citations are placed within sentences and paragraphs so that it is clear to the reader where the information in the paper came from. You have to give credit to the persons whose knowledge and idea you are sharing. In-text citations are used when information is being quoted or paraphrased.
Examples:
Works by a single author
· The last name of the author and the year of publication are inserted in the text at the appropriate point.
o from theory on bounded rationality (Simon, 1945).
· If the name of the author or the date appear as part of the narrative, cite only missing information in parentheses.
o Simon (1945) posited that
Works by multiple authors
· When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text. In parenthetical material join the names with an ampersand (&).
o as has been shown (Leiter & Maslach, 1998)
· In the narrative text, join the names with the word "and."
o as Leiter and Maslach (1998) demonstrated
· When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs.
o Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler (1991) found
· In all subsequent citations per paragraph, include only the surname of the first author followed by "et al." (Latin for "and others") and the year of publication.
o Kahneman et al. (1991) found
Works by associations, corporations, government agencies, etc.
· The names of groups that serve as authors (corporate authors) are usually written out each time they appear in a text reference.
o (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2007)
· When appropriate, the names of some corporate authors are spelled out in the first reference and abbreviated in all subsequent citations.
o (NIMH, 2007)
The following are web sites that will give you formatting information
http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
http://psychology.about.com/od/apastyle/ig/APA-Format-Examples/Journal-Articles-in-APA-Format.htm
Research Paper Rubric - 100 points possible
0 points / 1 point / 2 points / 3 points / 4 points / 5 pointsCover Page:
· student name
· title of paper
· course title/number
· faculty name & institution
· date submitted
· stapled (upper left)
· no fancy covers
· Running head:
· page numbers (whole paper) / No cover page. / Missing four criteria. / Missing three criteria. / Missing two criteria. / Missing one criterion. / All criteria complete and correct.
0 points / 2 point / 4 points / 6 points / 8 points / 10 points
· Introduction:
· Section heading / title
· Introduces the topic
· Points to be covered are clear
· Does not use “I” “my” or “you”
· Running header (whole paper)
· Running header is title of paper
· Page numbers (whole paper) / No criteria met. / Missing four criteria. / Missing three criteria. / Missing two criteria. / Missing one criterion. / All criteria complete and correct.
0 points / 5 point / 15 points / 25 points / 30 points / 35 points
· Body:
· Section headings
· All points covered and correct
- Pathophysiology
- Clinical manifestations
- Medical Management
- Prevention
· Each paragraph has a main point
· Smooth transition between paragraphs
· Written in their own words, not cut and paste
· Demonstrated understanding of the topic
· Topic is fully covered
· Not in essay language
· Information presented is correct / 5 or more criteria missing. / Missing four criteria. / Missing three criteria. / Missing two criteria. / Missing one criterion. / All criteria complete and correct.
0 points / 2 point / 4 points / 6 points / 8 points / 10 points
Conclusion:
· Section heading
· Not in essay language (no I, my, or you’s)
· Summarizes
o Pathophysiology
o Clinical manifestations
o Medical management
o Prevention / Missing five or more criteria / Missing four criteria / Missing three criteria / Missing two criteria / Missing one criteria / All criteria complete and correct.
0 points / 4 point / 8 points / 12 points / 16 points / 20 points
Bibliography / Citations
· 3 or more references cited
· References listed alphabetically
· Internet sources include URLs
· Reference page is titled
· In-text citations match bibliography
· Separate page for the bibliography
· Bibliography for each citation
· In-text citation for each reference
· In-text citations follow APA format
· Hanging tab
· Each paragraph / all information cited
· No quotes longer than 20 words (total)
· Reference follow APA format
· Sources are reliable/scientific / No bibliography.
Or missing more than eight criteria / Missing eight criteria. / Missing six criteria. / Missing four criteria. / Missing two criterion. / All criteria complete and correct.
0 points / 4 point / 8 points / 12 points / 16 points / 20 points
Mechanics
· 1250 – 2000 words in length
· At least 3 full pages long
· Proper grammar, punctuation, & spelling
· Narrative style (complete sentences)
· Double-spaced - font of 12
· Looks professional
· No extra spaces, wide margins
· Student name not found in body of paper
· Abbreviations spelled out – first time
· Running header / Missing more than two criteria and/or has more than 40 errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation. / Missing two criteria and/or has more than 30 to 40 errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation. / Missing one criterion and/or has 20 to 30 errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation. / Missing one criterion or has 10-20 errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation. / All criteria met with between 5-10 errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation. / All criteria met completely with less than 5 errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation.
-100 points / -20 points / No penalty
Timeliness / No paper, or If not submitted to turnitin.com within one week of due date. / Hard copy submitted to instructor on time, but not submitted to turnitin.com on time / Hard copy to instructor by due date and submitted to turnitin.com by the due date.
1/12/2016